1520 nappy changes: Life with identical twin babies

THE only way identical twin baby girls Layla and Miracle Pearce can be told apart is by their chubby cheeks.

The tiny babies are the newest addition to the Pearce family and made quite a dramatic debut when they arrived eight weeks early.

Since they were born on July 20, parents Lalaine and Jay Pearce have fed the girls 1140 bottles and changed 1520 nappies.

Mrs Pearce said the girls, who were born weighing just over three pounds each, were thriving and settling into the world and their growing family.

"We did IVF last year and after five weeks we lost it so we did another cycle in December and then in January we found at we had the girls," she said.

"They are identical because only the one egg was transferred but it split.

"It was crazy, my six-year-old said 'we never really lost the baby, it waited because it wanted to have a friend'.

"It was a huge surprise because it's rare to have the one egg split. It was very exciting when we found out they were girls because we already had two boys so now we have two girls as well."

The Redbank Plains family household runs on a tight schedule and strict routine as the Layla Hope and Miracle Faith are the eighth and ninth family members. "They look similar in the face but Layla is charger," Mrs Pearce said.

"Miracle is a bit smaller and Layla is chubbier in the face but there is nothing else to tell them apart. We've been looking at ears and feet and fingers and they're the same. Miracle is the nosier one and Layla is more laid back. We're trying really hard to find their difference in their looks other than their size.

"I told myself I would never dress them the same but they are so cute when they're together."

Layla and Miracle are new siblings for Jacinta, 16, Brittany, 12, Letesha, nine, Seth, six and Junior, two.

"I don't get to do much at home because I have three kids under two but they are in a routine, they are growing even though they are still quite small," Mrs Pearce said. "My house is like a bootcamp, if we lose the routine it goes belly-up."

ALL nine Pearce family members, including baby twin girls Miracle and Layla, will be lacing up their shoes and setting off to help support the services that supported them.

On Sunday, October 29, people across Australia will join them to walk together in support of the 48,000 premature or sick babies born in Australia every year.

Mrs Peace said it was a way for her and her family to show their thanks to the nurses and hospital staff who helped them bring Layla and Miracle home.

"Due to us being in hospital and having the premmie babies, we knew the nurses at Mater Mothers Hospital were amazing. While in hospital I tried to help as much as I could by doing the girls' temp, changing monitors and nappy changes so they could focus on the other sick babies," she said.

Walk for Prems 2017 is the largest annual fundraiser by Life's Little Treasures Foundation, Australia's foremost charity dedicated to supporting the families of babies born sick or prior to 37 weeks gestation.

In the past three years, Walk for Prems has raised over half a million dollars and this year Life's Little Treasures Foundation hopes to raise $250,000.

The South East Queensland walk will start from Arthur Davis Park, Flinders Parade, Sandgate.